The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
Also known asThe New Adventures of Tom and Jerry
Genre
Based on
Creative directorDon Christensen
Voices of
Theme music composerRay Ellis
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes15 (45 segments)
Production
Producers
  • Norm Prescott
  • Lou Scheimer
Running time21 minutes (3 7–minute segments)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 6 (1980-09-06) –
December 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)
Related
The Tom & Jerry Show (1975)
Tom & Jerry Kids (1990–1993)

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (also known as The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry) is an American animated television series produced by Filmation for MGM Television featuring the popular cartoon duo Tom and Jerry. The show first aired on September 6, 1980 on CBS and continued until December 13 the same year.[1] Its episodes were eventually added to syndicated Tom and Jerry packages in 1983.[2] Episodes of the show also occasionally appeared on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.

Description

The series is the fifth incarnation of the popular Tom and Jerry cartoon franchise, and the second made-for-television production. The series was notable in being the first attempt since the closing of the MGM studio in the 1950s to restore the original format of the cat and mouse team. After the original 114 theatrical shorts run of the William Hanna and Joseph Barbera-directed series, the characters were leased to other animation studios which changed the designs, and eliminated all of the supporting characters. The previous made-for-TV series, The Tom and Jerry Show was produced in 1975 by Hanna and Barbera under their own studio under contract to MGM, but it had made the cat and mouse friends in most of the episodes due to the reaction against violence in cartoons. This series was able to restore the familiar slapstick chase format, and reintroduced not only Spike and Tyke and Nibbles (here named "Tuffy"), but not Mammy Two Shoes who was retired from the cartoons in 1953 for portraying a Mammy archetype.[3] Half-hour episodes would consist of two Tom and Jerry shorts in the first and third segments, plus one Droopy short in the middle segment, also often featuring some other classic MGM cartoon characters such as Barney Bear. Spike from Tom and Jerry was used in many of these Droopy episodes as well, filling in for the other "Spike" bulldog created by Tex Avery for the old Droopy films, who was not used as a separate character here. The villainous wolf from the classic series was also included, and named "Slick Wolf", though with the series produced under the "Seal of Good Practice" code, the title character from "Red Hot Riding Hood", where the Wolf debuted, would not reappear.

The show's opening begins with Tom chasing Jerry through a blank yellow screen. They continue chasing, as all of the other stars build a giant "Tom and Jerry" sign (similar to the second opening of Tom & Jerry Kids). The familiar rotating executive producer credit of Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott briefly runs as Tom chases Jerry past the screen, knocking things over and running over others along the way. After the opening sequence, the wraparound segments, hosted by Droopy, would begin. He would start by painting the whole background with a single large brush stroke and he and the other speaking characters would engage in brief comedic sketches (like Droopy's opening poem in one of them "Roses are red, violets are blue, painting's my job, that's what I do; cute and somewhat wet").

In addition to the use of limited animation, the show was characterized by a very limited music score; all of the short, both Tom and Jerry and Droopy segments, used the same stock music, mostly created new for the series but consisting of only a handful of largely synthesized tunes, either with minor variations or played at different speeds or pitches. This did match the chase scenes, but gave the episodes a very monotonous soundtrack, making these episodes "stand out" to many Tom and Jerry viewers when they aired. Where the original series and the third series by Chuck Jones would have favorable endings for Tom occasionally, this series followed the second series by Gene Deitch in almost never having definite "wins" for Tom. Also similar to the Deitch films is the character design. The Droopy episodes would usually feature Slick and sometimes Spike being antagonists to Droopy. Barney had miscellaneous roles, such as being the boss of movie studio guard Droopy in "Star Crossed Wolf", and a frightful companion to Droopy in a haunted house in "Scared Bear".

The show was originally going to be called The Cat and Jam Comedy Show.[4]

Voice cast

Frank Welker and Filmation head Lou Scheimer provided the voices for the first six episodes. Welker voiced Spike, Tyke (in "The Puppy Sitter"; the character was silent in the wraparound segments), Droopy, Slick, Barney, Tom's owner and other characters. Scheimer voiced Tom, Jerry,[5][6] Tuffy (erroneously giving him an adult voice, although his voice sounded appropriately higher and childlike in the wraparound segments before "Droopy's Restless Night", "Pest in the West", "Getting the Foot", "Old Mother Hubbard" and "The Great Mousini"), Slick in the wraparound segments before "Droopy's Restless Night", "Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers", "The Incredible Droop", "Incredible Shrinking Cat", "When the Rooster Crows" and "School for Cats", Barney in the wraparound segments before "Pest in the West", "The Incredible Droop", "The Plaid Baron Strikes Again", "Incredible Shrinking Cat", "When the Rooster Crows", "School for Cats" and "Pied Piper Puss" and "The Incredible Droop", Spike in the wraparound segments before "Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers", "Scared Bear" and "School for Cats", and other characters. When a Screen Actors Guild strike hit, Welker was unable to continue work, so Scheimer and Norm Prescott had to fill in as voice actors.[7] Despite this, Welker's voice was still heard as Droopy from the seventh episode onward, as well as in the eighth, 12th, 13th and 14th episodes as Tuffy, Slick, Barney and other characters. Additional voices were done by Lennie Weinrib, Diane Pershing, Norm Prescott, Jay Scheimer, Erika Scheimer and other voice actors.

Episodes

No. Title Written by Original air date
1a"Farewell, Sweet Mouse"Jack Hanrahan & Steve ClarkSeptember 6, 1980 (1980-09-06)
On a rainy night, while being disrupted by Jerry, Tom throws him out. Believing him to be dead, Tom is tricked into thinking Jerry is a ghost.
1b"Droopy's Restless Night"Jack HanrahanSeptember 6, 1980 (1980-09-06)
Slick Wolf is the construction foreman on a building. Droopy and Spike are his workers. Droopy keeps getting Spike in trouble with the boss all day. Droopy falls asleep, and as he sleeps, Spike has him finish the building. Slick comes in the next day and congratulates Droopy, while Spike is stuck behind a brick wall.
1c"New Mouse in the House"Jack HanrahanSeptember 6, 1980 (1980-09-06)
Tom uses a remote control female mouse (voiced by Frank Welker) to lure and trap Jerry, but his plans backfire and his owner kicks him out.
2a"Heavy Booking"Mike JoensSeptember 13, 1980 (1980-09-13)
Tom chases Jerry in a library where Jerry tries to make noise to wake the enormous sleeping librarian named Hilda and a baby (voiced by Lou Scheimer), whom Hilda is babysitting.
2b"Matterhorn Droopy"Charlie HowellSeptember 13, 1980 (1980-09-13)
Droopy wants to be a rescue dog. Pretending to own the rescue dog school, Slick Wolf takes his money and tries to do him in without any success.
2c"The Puppy Sitter"Jack Hanrahan & Steve ClarkSeptember 13, 1980 (1980-09-13)
While Tom is left with Spike's little son Tyke, trying to keep him amused, Jerry tries to make Tom's job difficult.
3a"Most Wanted Cat"Jack Hanrahan & Steve ClarkSeptember 20, 1980 (1980-09-20)
Tired of Jerry toying with him, Tom leaves the house. Jerry tries hard to get Tom back before his owner calls pest control.
3b"Pest in the West"Coslough JohnsonSeptember 20, 1980 (1980-09-20)
Droopy is a stagecoach driver. Slick Wolf and Spike make several attempts to rob the coach (with Spike frequently dressing in drag to stop the coach), but they are not successful, and they eventually land in jail.
3c"Cat in the Fiddle"Jack Hanrahan & Tom MintonSeptember 20, 1980 (1980-09-20)
Tom plays a violin, but Jerry tries to stop Tom due to his cacophonic tunes and they trash the orchestra.
4a"Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers"Eddie FitzgeraldSeptember 27, 1980 (1980-09-27)
Tom tricks Jerry into thinking he is an alien that is going to blow up Earth. Jerry gets revenge by activating his secret weapon.
4b"The Incredible Droop"Coslough JohnsonSeptember 27, 1980 (1980-09-27)
An Oriental mad scientist (voiced by Frank Welker) has invented a mystery ray gun. He tells Droopy and Barney Bear to guard it from people. Droopy must protect it from falling into the wrong hands by using a rather unusual method: a Jekyll and Hyde formula. Slick Wolf tries to steal it, but Droopy keeps turning into a large monster, who then beats him up. Droopy frees himself and Barney from Slick's trap, and chases Slick away.
4c"The Plaid Baron Strikes Again"Coslough Johnson & Mike JoensSeptember 27, 1980 (1980-09-27)
Tom chases Jerry as he flies in a model airplane, destroying Spike's big model airplane in the process.
5a"Incredible Shrinking Cat"Coslough Johnson & Mike O'ConnorOctober 4, 1980 (1980-10-04)
Jerry gets hold of a mad scientist's (voiced by Frank Welker) size modifier in order to shrink Tom and enlarge himself.
5b"Scared Bear"Coslough JohnsonOctober 4, 1980 (1980-10-04)
Droopy and Barney explore an old house looking for treasure. Slick Wolf decides to scare them off by disguising himself as a ghost.
5c"When the Rooster Crows"Coslough JohnsonOctober 4, 1980 (1980-10-04)
Jerry uses a stranded circus rooster (voiced by Lou Scheimer) to rudely awaken Tom, but it gives itself away with an intensified crowing.
6a"School for Cats"Jim Mueller, Jack Hanrahan & Wendell WasherOctober 11, 1980 (1980-10-11)
Tom is sent to a military school for cats, coached by Spike. Jerry makes Tom's rigorous training a torment.
6b"Disco Droopy"Jack HanrahanOctober 11, 1980 (1980-10-11)
Droopy enters a disco contest at the Slipped Disco nightclub. His opponent is a conceited Slick Wolf, and the master of ceremonies is Spike. Despite Slick's many attempts to beat Droopy, he loses the contest and Droopy wins.
6c"Pied Piper Puss"Coslough JohnsonOctober 11, 1980 (1980-10-11)
Tom is sent to catch Jerry and Tuffy using a flute to lure them, until Tuffy gets a hold of it.
7a"Under the Big Top"Coslough JohnsonOctober 18, 1980 (1980-10-18)
Jerry gets Tom involved in a circus act and proceeds to make his act a dangerous and humiliating performance.
7b"Lumber Jerks"Coslough JohnsonOctober 18, 1980 (1980-10-18)
Droopy and Slick Wolf are competing against each other in a series of lumber-related games.
7c"Gopher It, Tom"Jack Hanrahan & Steve ClarkOctober 18, 1980 (1980-10-18)
Tom is sent by his master to catch a gopher (voiced by Lou Scheimer) eating the garden vegetables, but Jerry thwarts his efforts.
8a"Snowbrawl"Jack Hanrahan & Jim MuellerOctober 25, 1980 (1980-10-25)
On Christmas Eve, Tom and Jerry outsmart each other to get one of them locked outside the house.
8b"Getting the Foot"Jack HanrahanOctober 25, 1980 (1980-10-25)
Droopy and Slick Wolf are photographers for the Daily Bugle. They are assigned to get a picture of Bigfoot (voiced by Lou Scheimer), and Slick tries various schemes to sabotage Droopy's pictures, including dressing in drag as a female Bigfoot. Droopy ends up getting his pictures, and Bigfoot throws Slick in the newspaper press.
8c"Kitty Hawk Kitty"Jack HanrahanOctober 25, 1980 (1980-10-25)
In 1908, Tom was chosen to be the test pilot of the Wright Brothers' (voiced by Lou Scheimer) airplane, but Jerry was credited for a successful flight.
9a"Get Along, Little Jerry"Coslough JohnsonNovember 1, 1980 (1980-11-01)
Tom chases Jerry on a Texas ranch, where he causes inconvenience for Spike and gets entangled in cowboy events.
9b"Star-crossed Wolf"Jack HanrahanNovember 1, 1980 (1980-11-01)
Slick Wolf tries to get in a Hollywood movie studio known as Behemoth Studio, only to be foiled by security guard Droopy.
9c"Spike's Birthday"Jack HanrahanNovember 1, 1980 (1980-11-01)
Jerry takes advantage of Tom, who is left to guard Spike's party food, and Tom barely escapes his predicament.
10a"No Museum Peace"Coslough JohnsonNovember 8, 1980 (1980-11-08)
Tom chases after Jerry and Tuffy around a museum to get his fish back, but Spike keeps kicking him out.
10b"A Day at the Bakery"Jack HanrahanNovember 8, 1980 (1980-11-08)
Droopy and Spike work in a bakery managed by Barney. When they are assigned to make a cake for a female movie celebrity named Farah Wolfhound (voiced by Lou Scheimer), they compete to design the best cake. Eventually, Spike delivers the cake to Farah, who is surprised by seeing Droopy inside the cake.
10c"Mouse Over Miami"Jack HanrahanNovember 8, 1980 (1980-11-08)
Spike restricts Tom from catching Jerry, but Tom tries to anyway and Spike sends Tom back to his house in the middle of winter.
11a"The Trojan Dog"Coslough JohnsonNovember 15, 1980 (1980-11-15)
Jerry uses a robot dog to scare off Tom and access the fridge. Tom tries to use a Trojan dog to get at Jerry, but the plan backfires.
11b"Foreign Legion Droopy"Coslough JohnsonNovember 15, 1980 (1980-11-15)
Droopy is sent out on a dangerous assignment-he must track down the wolf in sheik's clothing!
11c"Pie in the Sky"Jim MuellerNovember 15, 1980 (1980-11-15)
A peckish Tom chases Jerry around a construction site, getting pinned down by Spike.
12a"Save That Mouse"Coslough JohnsonNovember 22, 1980 (1980-11-22)
Tom's owner's sister mistakes Jerry for a hamster and will not let Tom touch him.
12b"Old Mother Hubbard"Jack HanrahanNovember 22, 1980 (1980-11-22)
Droopy is in Storybook Land. Red Riding Hood is delivering food to Grandma's house, and Slick Wolf tries to steal the food. Droopy foils Slick, and he goes to visit Goldilocks. She lives with three gorillas (subletted from the Three Bears) (voiced by Lou Scheimer), and while Slick looks for food to steal, the gorillas return and chase him away.
12c"Say What?"Jack HanrahanNovember 22, 1980 (1980-11-22)
Tom's owner has received a parrot named Bertram (voiced by Lou Scheimer). When Tom rounds on him, Bertram and Jerry work together to make Tom's chase into double trouble.
13a"Superstocker"Coslough JohnsonNovember 29, 1980 (1980-11-29)
Tom chases Jerry in a supermarket in order to protect the food products. They both end up trashing the place.
13b"Droopy's Good Luck Charm"Coslough JohnsonNovember 29, 1980 (1980-11-29)
Slick Wolf sells Droopy a good-luck charm for $5. Spike tells him that it was really a good-luck charm, and the two try various ways of getting it back, with their attempts backfiring each time. Spike offers to buy it back for $10, and Droopy sells it back to him. Slick and Spike see a sidewalk salesman (voiced by Lou Scheimer) selling about 30 of them, and Slick chases after Spike for wasting their money.
13c"The Great Mousini"Jack HanrahanNovember 29, 1980 (1980-11-29)
Jerry joins a circus as the escape artist Mousini with Tom as his co-star. They lose their jobs after their latest performance.
14a"Jerry's Country Cousin"Jack HanrahanDecember 6, 1980 (1980-12-06)
Jerry's identical, yet strong cousin (voiced by Lou Scheimer) comes to visit. Tom retreats after Jerry's cousin ruins his mistress' daughter's wedding buffet with a sounder of pigs.
14b"The Great Diamond Heist"Coslough JohnsonDecember 6, 1980 (1980-12-06)
Inspector Droopy searches for a stolen diamond.
14c"Mechanical Failure"Coslough JohnsonDecember 6, 1980 (1980-12-06)
Tom's owner has brought a robot maid (voiced by Lou Scheimer), which Tom and Jerry use against each other until it goes out of control.
15a"A Connecticut Mouse In King Arthur's Cork"Coslough JohnsonDecember 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)
Tom dreams his chase with Jerry as a medieval quest scenario.
15b"The Great Train Rubbery"Jack HanrahanDecember 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)
Droopy is the mail clerk on a train out West, and receives a package to deliver to a bank. Slick Wolf hears this, and he proceeds to try and steal it, figuring that it must be money. After a number of attempts, he succeeds, but is arrested by the sheriff. The package contains not cash, but "Wanted" posters for Slick Wolf. Droopy receives the reward for his capture.
Note: This is the final Droopy short.
15c"Stage Struck"Coslough JohnsonDecember 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)

Jealous of Spike's appreciation for Jerry's dance talent, Tom tries to interfere, but they go along with their performance.

Note: This is the final Tom and Jerry short and the final segment of the series overall.

Home media

The rights to The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show were currently owned by Warner Bros. through its Turner Entertainment Co. banner. However, due to the show's negative reception and legal issues involving MGM outsourcing the animation to Filmation,[10] Warner Bros. has no plans for a DVD box set of the show. However, one episode, "Jerry's Country Cousin", did surface on the 70th anniversary DVD collection in 2010.[11] In late 2022, another episode, "Snowbrawl" was included as one of the 3 bonus cartoons on the Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land DVD. All 30 Tom and Jerry segments of this incarnation (along with 8 Droopy segments) are available on the Boomerang app.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "TV schedule (9/6/1980 at 8:30)". The Kingman Daily Miner. 1980-09-05. Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 858–862. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ Perkins, Anne (2014-10-02). "The Tom and Jerry racism warning is a reminder about diversity in modern storytelling". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  4. ^ "Tom and Jerry Cat and Jam Comedy Show Original Cel". WorthPoint. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. ^ "R.I.P. Lou Scheimer (Filmation)". DeviantArt. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Filmation Tribute to Lou Scheimer". DeviantArt. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  7. ^ Scheimer, Lou; Mangels, Andy (December 15, 2012). Creating The Filmation Generation. TwoMorrows. ISBN 9781605490441. Retrieved 6 August 2023. Frank Welker did the first six shows for us, but when a Screen Actors Guild strike hit, he couldn't continue work. I had to come in and do all the voices as the producer.
  8. ^ "The Tom & Jerry Comedy Show". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  9. ^ "The Voice Artist's Spotlight on Twitter: "Tertainly the first of many Filmation examples we'll have in terms of bad voice acting. Filmation founders Lou Schmeier and Norm Prescott did most of the voice work in their cartoons". Twitter. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "1980 Tom and Jerry Comedy Show – DVD potential?". Anime Superhero Forum. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Tom & Jerry: Deluxe Anniversary Collection". DVD Talk. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  12. ^ Garun, Natt (12 April 2017). "Boomerang now offers unlimited classic cartoons for $5 a month". The Verge. Retrieved 15 February 2020.

External links

Tom and Jerry
Children's programming on CBS in the 1980s
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